DO YOU WANT TO LEARN TO SEW THE LATEST FASHION WITH STYLE? IF SO THIS BLOG IS FOR YOU.
With lots of hints and tips I help you to produce a beautiful garment even if you have never sewn before.
Sewing is a wonderful adventure, and the garment you produce will not only fit you perfectly it will last a lifetime.

I have recently added some thread storage to one of the cupboards and I love seeing my threads all neat and tidy. I will be getting another one to sit under it shortly as I still have another box full of assorted threads!

I think that they look really pretty, plus it is so practical not having to sort through boxes of threads trying to find the correct colour.

I recently bought this beautiful screen printed furnishing fabric. I wanted to get as many things as possible out of it so I first measured enough to make my curtains, and with what was left over I just had enough to cover these two very old chairs which I have in the room.
The one with the fabric back is the one I sit at when sewing so I made sure that I put plenty of wadding in place to give my back something comfortable to lean on. Both chairs have seats which push out. I removed the old covers, cleaned the chairs and replaced the covers with new ones using the discarded ones as a template. I also added some wadding to the seats. This was really easy to do as the fabric just needed tacking in place.

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I have some fat quarters of Michael Miller designs and with these I made some cushions. For the cushion backs I made simple envelope openings out of curtain lining fabric. There was not enough of this expensive fabric for backs which will not be seen anyway!

I have an old table which I use as my sewing table, it is a bit small but it is what I use to sew on. I have the sewing machine at one end and my overlocker at the other with a chair each side. It was deserving of a new tablecloth so I made one out of this "Paris" fabric.. My pins are in a jar, and my scissors and sewing tools are just kept in trays for now.

The curtain fabric is rather stunning. I cut out lining to help it to hang nicely and also to stop the fabric from fading in the sun. The lining is sewn into the fabric so it is as one piece on the top is a wide ruflette tape.

I needed to put new curtain rails up, previously this was my son's bedroom and he had a curtain pole. He still comes to stay when he can, and I don't think he will mind the lovely pictures of famous tourist attractions on the new curtains.

This is where I sit to sew. My dummy is still wearing the jacket I have just finished making

I have a pair of lace curtains behind the ordinary ones, there are books on the windowsill as I am fast running out of space!

The curtain lining and all the furnishing fabric was purchased from Abakhan Fabrics Click here to go to Abakhan web site I also bought lots of rolls of ribbon because whenever I need some I can never find any, well, now I have enough to last me a very long time!

This is still my sons room when he comes to stay, he is a Doctor but he does come home when he can. I still keep a bed for him and these are the soft toys he has bought me over the years!

I have an easy chair in the room where I sit to do any hand sewing or to read a sewing book . It is very peaceful and relaxing in here. Some of my rolls of fabric are hiding behind my chair.

The cushion fabric is another Michael Miller and I love it.

The next thing I want to do now that this room is finished for now, is to get cutting out the lounge curtains from this roll of fabric I bought from Abakhan. I also want to make a new kitchen blind from it, cushions, and seat pads for my dining chairs. So I guess I will be busy for a week or two! The windows are very large - the full height of the room, and I am wondering if loose linings might be easier then the sewn in ones I made for the sewing room?

The other thing I have been experimenting with is printing on fabric. I made a piece of printed fabric which is going to be part of the front of one of my new cushions. I used some of Matthews photographs and copied them onto my fabric. With this piece I made a travel journal and pen holder for him. This is something I want to do more of and try to perfect.

I hope that you have enjoyed looking round my sewing room. I will of course update you on my lounge and kitchen once I have done them.

March 2016

Of course, rooms get updated and this one is no exception, so ,et me show you a few new photographs.

Firstly, this is my wonderful new overocker from Jaycotts.co.uk. details are in my side bar and there is a whole blog post devoted to it.

This is part of my stash of fabric, the last lot has mostly been used

My patterns are here, the folders contain used ones which I may want to use again. I store them this way rather than try to stuff them back into the envalope

And lastly, my wonderful Grandmother Annke, who taugh me to sew when I was a child, looks down on me.

What do you think of this room? I can t abide mess, so I try to keep it organised and tidy, often failing miserably!

I have sewn all my life and I am passionate about passing on my vast knowledge of sewing to others as I feel these skills could easily be lost. Crafts are not taught so much in schools now instead we buy cheap fashion items which are only worn a few times and end up on landfill sites which is bad for our planet. When you sew you are creating a bespoke garment which fits you perfectly and will last a lifetime. How wonderful it feels when you are complemented on your new dress and you proudly say " Thank you, I made it myself"